Frost
by Avril Lambert
Summary: ::This story contains spoilers for Rise of the Guardians:: A mid-quel to Rise of the Gaurdians about Jack Frost and his sister. One Shot.


_"Jack, I'm scared..."_

Belle stood by the frozen pond and stared at the snow covered ice. She was afraid of the pond. Actually, it would be more accurate to say she was afraid of the cold, dark water beneath the ice. She hadn't set foot on the ice in ten years, but she still came back to this pond every winter.

Ten years ago, she had been ice skating with her brother when the ice under her skates started to crack. She had been so scared she couldn't move.

_"It's going to be all right... I promise."_

He turned it into a game. By pretending they were playing hopscotch, her older brother was able to save her. But, he accidentally landed on the thin ice and fell through. Their parents had seen him go through the ice and immediately came to help. While her mother got her off the ice, their father tried to save her brother. But, they never found him.

Belle had been devastated and spent most of her childhood blaming herself for her brother's death. It wasn't until she was older that she realized it wasn't her fault and there was nothing she could have done to save him. She was just a little girl then. But, the fear she felt that day always came back when she was near a frozen body of water. Still, every winter on the anniversary of her brother's death, she came back to this pond.

The ice was thin that day and Belle could see patches where there was water on the surface. She took a step back and looked around at the trees surrounding the pond just as it began snowing. She smiled and closed her eyes as the snowflakes gently fell on her face. Winter had always been her brother's favorite season. He loved the snow.

The temperature suddenly dropped and Belle looked down as the pond instantly became solid ice. The snow fell harder and Belle was starting to get colder. She kissed the tips of her fingers, then pressed them against the ice, trying to send a kiss to her brother. He was lost, but not forgotten. She stood up and turned to walk away, but stopped dead in her tracks. There, just a couple feet away from her, was her brother. He looked exactly the same as he had ten years ago, but with white hair and much paler skin. He was even holding the staff he had used to save her from falling through the ice. He was looking up at the sky and smiling at the snow. Belle blinked a couple of times, thinking she was seeing things, but he was still there when she opened her eyes again.

"Jack?" Belle was barely able to choke out his name.

Jack's eyes snapped to her and grew wide with surprise. "You can see me?"

"Yes..."

Jack suddenly became excited and laughed. The excitement was short-lived however after something seemed to dawn on him.

"_How _can you see me?"

"What do you mean? You're standing right in front of me. The real question is _how _are you standing there?"

Jack ignored her question. "This doesn't make sense. Usually only children can see the legends."

Belle stared at her brother. He was right about one thing; none of this was making sense. "What legends?"

Jack shrugged. "You know, Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, Sandman, the Easter Bunny. Do you believe in them, too?"

Now Belle was starting to think she was crazy. "Of course I don't believe in them; they're not real, Jack."

"You don't believe in them, but you believe in Jack Frost?"

"Jack Frost? No, I don't believe in him, either. Why are we having this conversation?"

Now it was Jack's turn to look confused. He took a step closer to her and reached out to touch her cheek. His hands were ice cold and she flinched, but didn't pull away. She never thought she would see her brother again, let alone feel his touch. She put her hand over his and he looked even more confused.

"How can you stand to touch me? I'm so cold."

"I've missed you so much, Jack."

"Missed me?" Jack took a step back. "You're not making any sense. How can you see me and touch me if you don't believe in me? And what do you mean you've missed me? Who are you?"

Belle winced as if he had just slapped her. "You don't know who I am?"

"Of course not. I've never seen you before."

An overwhelming sadness came over Belle and she slowly sank to her knees. The snow seeped through her skirt and leggings, but she ignored the wet cold. Jack knelt down in front of her.

"Why are you so sad?" he asked. "Maybe you should go ice skating; it'll cheer you up."

Belle narrowed her eyes at him. "What?"

"Ice skating is fun. It'll help you stop feeling sad."

Was Jack mocking her? How could he suggest ice skating after what happened?

Or maybe he really didn't remember what happened.

"I'm afraid of the pond," Belle finally replied.

"Why?"

"My brother fell through the ice and died."

Jack stood up and held out his hand. "I won't let you fall. You'll be all right, I promise."

All of a sudden, Belle wanted to start crying. Her brother was somehow still alive and standing right in front of her, but he didn't remember her. She did her best to recompose herself.

"I don't have any skates," she replied.

Jack knelt back down and gently gripped her ankle. He ran his hand over the bottom of her shoe and formed a skating blade out of ice. He then did the same thing to her other shoe.

"You can do magic."

Jack stood up and held his hand out to her again. This time she took it and let him pull her to her feet. It had been a long time since Belle went ice skating and it took her a while to get her accustomed to it. But, Jack kept her hand in his until she was sure she could do it on her own. Her mind flash backed to when she was a little girl and her brother taught her how to ice skate for the first time. Now he was hovering over the ice and laughing as he followed her around the pond and made it snow.

"Jack, can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"If you're still alive, how are you the same age you were ten years ago?"

"I don't age."

"You don't age, you can do magic and you were surprised when I could see you... Are you an angel?"

Jack stared at her for a moment. He had blue eyes; they used to be brown. "I'm not an angel. I'm Jack Frost."

"I didn't know Jack Frost was real."

"You have to believe in me; you can see me."

"Of course I believe in you, Jack; you're my brother."

Jack lowered himself to his feet. "I don't have a sister. I've always been Jack Frost."

"No you haven't. You were a boy once; my big brother."

"You must have me confused with someone else."

Belle reached out to touch him, but he stepped away from her. "Jack, you have to remember me. My name is Belle, I'm your younger sister."

"I'm sorry." Jack jumped into the air and flew away.

Belle stood in the middle of the pond, watching the wind blow the snow around, and she finally let a couple tears roll down her cheeks as she lost her brother once again.

**O-O-O**

_300 Years Later..._

Jack remembered everything. After he and the other Guardians defeated Pitch, Jack found where Belle was buried. He sat down in front of her tombstone and ran his hand over her name. If only he had gotten his memories back earlier, then he would have remembered his sister when he saw her again and could have spent more time with her. But, now she was gone and since he couldn't die, he would never see her again.

"Jack?"

Jack looked up to see Jamie walking towards him. "What's up, Jamie?"

"What are you doing here?"

"Visiting someone I used to know."

"Oh."

Jack stood up and put his hand on Jamie's shoulder. "Watch over Sophie, Jamie, and spend as much time with her as you can. You never know when you could lose her and never see her again."


End file.
